Rex Barber

Members of the advisory committee charged with narrowing the field of candidates to become the next president of East Tennessee State University have been finalized, according to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
The committee, appointed by the TBR, the governing board that oversees ETSU, will meet for the first time Aug. 22 at the Millennium Centre in room 237 at 1:30 p.m. The community is invited to attend an open forum beginning at 11 a.m. that same day in the same room to discuss the search criteria to replace Paul Stanton Jr., who announced he will retire from ETSU’s presidency in January.
Following are the members of the committee, which include five TBR members and 16 representatives from across the region and ETSU.

TBR Chancellor John Morgan said President Stanton and his staff were consulted in selecting the members of the committee. Morgan said the committee should be comprised of a diverse and inclusive group of people from the community that ETSU serves, especially faculty, staff and students.
As part of the search process, schools typically form search advisory committees that include students, staff, faculty, alumni and other representatives from the community. According to documents from the TBR website, the advisory committee includes the TBR chancellor and a board member designated as the chairman. Additionally, there must be two faculty members, one of whom is the Faculty Senate president; two students, one of whom is the Student Government Association president; one alumnus; one support employee; one administrator and others considered appropriate.
Morgan said this committee is representative.
“I think it represents all the stakeholders very adequately, and I’m looking forward to working with them,” Morgan said.
The primary role of the advisory committee will be to screen candidates who have applied for the job of president and select finalists for interviews. TBR Chancellor John Morgan will then consider the committee’s views on each candidate and the views of anyone else in making a recommendation to the full Board of Regents. The Regents will then accept or decline that recommendation.
The presidential selection process will be open to the community.
“All the meetings are open meetings,” Morgan said, adding he thinks the greater community will have a chance to offer input and get a feeling for those who have been chosen as finalists.
The Florida-based executive search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates will collect applications for the school’s presidency.